Charles Crumb
Encyclopedia
Charles Vincent Crumb, Jr. (1942 - February 1993) was an American
artist closely associated with his famous younger brother, the cartoonist
Robert Crumb.
Charles often appears as a character in Robert Crumb's comic stories and autobiographical writings; Robert credits Charles' childhood obsession with making comics as the foundation of Robert's own devotion to his art.
As Charles entered adulthood he became progressively troubled both emotionally and psychologically and he rarely ventured outside of his family home where he lived with his mother. At this point his artwork took on specific attributes common to the psychologically troubled: repetitive and painstaking concentric lines filling in otherwise normal Crumb-esque drawings, reflecting an obsession with filling every last centimeter of white space.
Charles Crumb and his artwork received wide public attention as a result of the success of the 1994 feature-length documentary film Crumb
, in which Charles and his work are featured prominently. His artwork, including notebooks filled with tiny gestural marks that suggest handwriting
, has been published and exhibited, sometimes in the context of outsider art
. His mother threw out a great deal of his artwork as she thought "no one would be interested in it."
In the film Crumb
, R. Crumb describes how Charles would often react to things by saying "How perfectly goddamned delightful it all is, to be sure."
Charles Crumb committed suicide in February 1993. He reportedly died as a result of an overdose.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist closely associated with his famous younger brother, the cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Robert Crumb.
Charles often appears as a character in Robert Crumb's comic stories and autobiographical writings; Robert credits Charles' childhood obsession with making comics as the foundation of Robert's own devotion to his art.
As Charles entered adulthood he became progressively troubled both emotionally and psychologically and he rarely ventured outside of his family home where he lived with his mother. At this point his artwork took on specific attributes common to the psychologically troubled: repetitive and painstaking concentric lines filling in otherwise normal Crumb-esque drawings, reflecting an obsession with filling every last centimeter of white space.
Charles Crumb and his artwork received wide public attention as a result of the success of the 1994 feature-length documentary film Crumb
Crumb (film)
Crumb is a 1994 documentary film about the noted underground comic artist Robert Crumb and his family. Directed by Terry Zwigoff and produced by Lynn O'Donnell and David Lynch, it won widespread acclaim, including both the Grand Jury Prize and best cinematography prize at the Sundance Film Festival...
, in which Charles and his work are featured prominently. His artwork, including notebooks filled with tiny gestural marks that suggest handwriting
Asemic writing
Asemic writing is a wordless open semantic form of writing. The word asemic means "having no specific semantic content". With the nonspecificity of asemic writing there comes a vacuum of meaning which is left for the reader to fill in and interpret. All of this is similar to the way one would...
, has been published and exhibited, sometimes in the context of outsider art
Outsider Art
The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...
. His mother threw out a great deal of his artwork as she thought "no one would be interested in it."
In the film Crumb
Crumb
Crumb may refer to:* Crumb , 1994 documentary* Crumb, the component of bread inside the crust* CRUMB – Curatorial Resource for Upstart Media Bliss, a research institute* Crumb...
, R. Crumb describes how Charles would often react to things by saying "How perfectly goddamned delightful it all is, to be sure."
Charles Crumb committed suicide in February 1993. He reportedly died as a result of an overdose.